Heating and Cooling System Check-Ups

Opinions are cheap, so a check up produces numbers. The temperature difference across the indoor coil tells us whether the system is doing the work it claims to be doing. Running current compared with the nameplate rating shows whether a compressor or fan motor is straining. Capacitor values reveal components that are on the way out well before they fail.

On refrigerated systems we assess charge by pressures and temperatures rather than assuming. On ducted systems we check airflow at the outlets and look for restrictions, crushed runs and duct insulation that has degraded. On any system we check the electrical side, because loose or heat damaged terminations are both a reliability and a safety issue.

The best time to test a heater is in autumn and the best time to test cooling is in early spring, because that is when a problem can be fixed calmly. A check up in March or September usually costs less to act on than the same fault found in July or January, when parts move slower and the diary is full.

These bookings are short and specific. We run the system in the mode you are about to depend on, take the measurements, and tell you whether to leave it alone, book a repair, or start budgeting for a replacement.

Air conditioning is one of the more expensive things in a house that a building inspection barely touches. A standard pre purchase inspection will note that a system exists. It will not tell you the compressor is drawing high current or the ducted unit is fifteen years old with a corroded coil.

For buyers, a check up before settlement gives you a real number for what the system is worth and what replacing it would cost. For sellers, a report showing systems have been tested and are working removes a negotiating point at the pointy end. We do these across Yarraville, Newport, Altona and Point Cook regularly, and can work in with agent access.

A system quietly losing efficiency does not announce itself. Refrigerant slowly leaking, a coil packed with dust and salt, duct joints that have come apart in the roof or a thermostat reading two degrees off all produce the same symptom, which is longer run times for the same comfort.

A check up isolates which of those it is. Sometimes the answer is not the equipment at all. Ceiling insulation that has been disturbed by other trades and duct runs that have been pulled apart during solar or plumbing work are both things we find more often than people expect.

A written report with the measured values, photographs of anything relevant, a clear statement of condition and a realistic estimate of remaining service life. If repairs are needed they are listed with prices and separated into what is urgent and what can wait. Nothing is done on the day beyond the inspection itself unless you ask us to.

There is no obligation to book work with us afterwards. Plenty of check ups end with us telling you the system is fine and to spend your money elsewhere, which is the outcome we want when it is true.